President Ali Abdullah Saleh has declared a state of emergency in Yemen, as government forces opened fire on antigovernment protesters in the capital, Sanaa, killing and injuring many. Medical officials and witnesses said at least 40 people in a large crowd of protesters were shot dead by snipers posted on rooftops in the center of Sanaa. Some of the snipers were reportedly apprehended by furious protesters, and thrown from the rooftops.

Deputy National Security Adviser Denis McDonough set the Obama administration's tone for discussions as tensions escalate before the first in a series of congressional hearings on Islamic radicalization. The hearings, chaired by New York Republican Rep. Peter King, will focus on the level of cooperation from the Muslim community in helping law enforcement combat radicalization.

Khetan’s path-breaking investigation makes it clear that the real conspiracy is not from the side of Muslims. Truth is many a times stranger than fiction. We have been made to believe from last many years that it is Muslims who are responsible for Malegaon, Samjhauta, Ajmer and many such blasts. Those writers and social activists who doubted this police-Hindutva version of the cause of terror were totally ignored by the investigating authorities and by the big media. Their investigations did show the involvement of Hindutva elements. These writers and social activists were criticized and intimidated for being anti Hindu and anti nationals. Now as the matters stand today, thanks to Hemant Karkare’s investigations and later Swami Aseemanand’s confessions, truth is that in all these cases of acts of terror, Hindutva groups were involved. Now by piecing together the observations from the one of Godhra Collector Jayanti Ravi to the Sting operations by Tehelka Khetan points out “That there was a conspiracy afoot in Gujarat those years is beyond doubt. But as this story shows, it was a conspiracy of a different kind. It was a conspiracy designed to rent the fabric of this country: a conspiracy by State machinery to blacken one community’s name. And declare them the enemy.”

Who’s afraid of the Shias and why? And what’s this resurrected talk of a Shiite Crescent, from Lebanon and Iraq to Iran, Bahrain and the eastern province of Saudi Arabia where Shiites dominate the oil fields?

A major study by Abdul Saleh Sharif (Relative Development of Gujarat and Socio-Religious Differentials, 2011) is very revealing about the condition of Muslims. This shows that Muslims fare very badly on the parameters of poverty, hunger, education and vulnerability on security issues. The study shows that levels of hunger are high in Gujarat alongside Orissa and Bihar. Muslims are educationally deprived. Muslim community which at one time was dominating in diamond and textile trade has been pushed behind. Poverty of Gujarat Muslims is 8 times more than high caste Hindus and 50% more than OBCs. Twelve per cent Muslims have bank accounts but only 2.6% of them get bank loans. This study concludes that Muslims in Gujarat face high levels of discrimination, even on the roll out of NREGA, Gujarat is at the bottom of the pile.

When it comes to participation of Muslims in school education, Karnataka has earned a distinction in the country with the state recording a significant rise in their enrollment right from elementary to upper primary level during 2009-10.

The two regional powers most affected by the turmoil in the Middle East are going to be Iran and Israel. Life sometimes offers strange parallels. There is much in common between the two intractable adversaries.

Twenty years ago, the world had about 1.1 billion Muslims. Twenty years from now, it will have about twice as many - and they'll represent more than a quarter of all people on earth, according to a new study released Thursday.